Twenty-eight life jackets have washed up on an island off the western Australia coast sparking calls for a full scale search in case they belong to a boat carrying asylum seekers.

A federal police spokesman said they were working with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and Customs to investigate the origin of the jackets.

The spokesman said police were not aware of any boat distress incidents and there was no search and rescue operation taking place.

"It is common for debris and other items to wash up on the east coast of Cocos (Keeling) Islands, including items from Indonesia," the spokesman said.

An AFP spokeswoman said they were asking local residents who might know something to come forward while officers investigated where the life jackets came from.

Police are also urging anyone who had found a life jacket and not handed it in to contact authorities on the island.

The find puzzled some locals who did not believe asylum seekers’ boats usually carried life jackets.

Shane Charlston heard the jackets were discovered scattered around a couple of beaches.

“We don’t think it is an asylum seeker boat. They don’t carry them [life jackets],” he said.

“The ones that we get don’t carry life jackets anyway. The ones who go to Christmas Island seem to have them but the boats that come here don’t.”

Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul said a full scale search should have been launched immediately but weather may have hindered authorities.

He said there were reports an Orion sea surveillance plane had been seen in the area on Thursday and there were suspicions it was looking for a boat carrying asylum seekers the day before the life jackets were discovered.

“There needs to be an immediate search,” he said.

“They have had some very bad weather over there and I understand there has been some effort to search but we are very concerned.

“One Orion plane is not proficient, there needs to be a full scale search.”